1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a utility transport tractor that combines with an agricultural tractor the capability to transport materials while still maintaining the common features of an agricultural tractor, such as a three point hitch.
2. Description of Related Art
Agricultural tractors are designed primarily to supply power to agricultural implements and to produce a continuous draft force in the direction of travel to enable soil engaging implements to perform their intended functions. Agricultural tractors must be designed with sufficient downward force acting on the drive wheels to produce the desired draft force. Often this results in a vehicle having drive wheels that are larger than the non-drive wheels to accommodate the large downward force on the drive wheels. Agricultural tractors differ from cargo carrying vehicles such as trucks in that trucks do not need to produce a continuous draft load. A truck only needs to produce a draft load when pulling a load during periods of acceleration and deceleration.
An agricultural tractor, designed primarily to produce a draft load, has limited, if any, ability to carry cargo. A farmer must use a truck or a wagon hitched to a tractor to haul cargo. Other cargo hauling utility vehicles, such as a John Deere Gator utility vehicle can also be used. Trucks and utility vehicles, however, have shortcomings when working with agricultural implements. They do not have the tractive ability of an agricultural tractor and are generally not equipped with a three point hitch. In small farm operations where it is not practical to buy several pieces of equipment, it is beneficial to have a utility transport tractor that combines the typical features of an agricultural tractor with the capability to carry cargo. Past attempts to combine tractors and trucks have focused on adding a three point hitch to a truck. These products suffer from poor performance in pulling an implement and often lack visibility typical of a tractor.
The utility transport tractor of the present invention has both the typical features of a conventional agricultural tractor and the capability to carry cargo. The tractor of the present invention modifies a tractor to include cargo carrying capability and is only slightly modified from a conventional tractor. The wheel base has been extended to move the rear axle rearward relative to the operator""s station. The extension of the wheel base provides room above the rear axle to mount a cargo box. Since the operator""s station is now forward of the rear wheels, there is enough lateral space on the operator""s station for additional seats to carry passengers. The additional seats are to the side of the operator and are located forward and downward from the operator""s seat. This allows the operator to see over the top of the passengers and moves the shoulders of the passengers forward of the operator""s shoulders to increase occupant comfort.
The cargo box has an upright front wall, left and right side walls and a tail gate to easily contain loose materials such as soil, gravel or sand. The tail gate is hinged to the side walls in a manner that enables the tail gate to pivot from an upright closed position to four different open positions by rotating the tail gate about four separate axes. The tail gate can rotate about a lower horizontal axis at the bottom of the tail gate, about an upper horizontal axis at the top of the tail gate and about left and right upright axes at the left and right sides of the tail gate respectively.
The tail gate is rotatable about the upper horizontal axis to a upwardly and forwardly inclined position. Likewise, a rear portion of the cargo box floor is also rotatable to a forwardly and upwardly inclined position. In these inclined positions, the tail gate and the rear portion of the floor are inclined generally toward the eyes of an operator. In these raised positions, the operator is able to see the three point hitch and the implement attached thereto.
The cargo box has a metal frame structure attached to the tractor chassis. The side walls, front wall and tail gate are preferably formed of plastic panels while the floor and wheel well portion of the cargo box are formed of sheet metal. The use of plastic components reduces the weight of the cargo box and the manufacturing cost. The plastic is also dent resistant and does not need to be painted. The tail gate is mounted to the side walls by four identical hinges at the four corners of the tail gate to reduce the number of separate components used to attach the tail gate.
The utility transport tractor of the present invention retains the typical agricultural tractor configuration of large rear drive wheels for improved traction. The tractor further retains a three point hitch and assures visibility of the hitch by configuring the cargo box with one or more movable panels to enable an operator seated on the operator""s station to view the three point hitch and implement.